Debates of March 27th, 2013

Official Languages

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I also have the honour to give a supplementary opinion on behalf of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

I invite Canadians to read the report on the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 2017. We are completely opposed to the government using the next Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality in its recommendation to encourage the departments and groups involved to refocus their projects and planning on preparations for the celebrations. We believe that this is detrimental to the development of minority language communities across the country. The purpose of the roadmap is to provide communities with the opportunity to develop their schools in some way.

As for funding for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, it is the responsibility of the Government of Canada to provide the moneys required, and it should not use moneys for the roadmap for that purpose.

Therefore I invite Canadians to read our report.

Finance

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 16th report of the Standing Committee on Finance, in relation to Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act and related legislation.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendments.

Canadian Heritage

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in relation to its study on the status of amateur coaching in Canada.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

As well, Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in relation to the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014.

Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

moved that Bill S-14, an act to amend the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, be read the first time.

(Motion agreed to and bill read the first time)

Sex Selection

[Russ Hiebert, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to present petitions from hundreds of constituents who are calling upon Parliament to condemn the worst form of discrimination against females and who are asking members of Parliament to support Motion No. 408.

Shark Finning

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present petitions in support of Bill C-380, a bill which would stop the import of shark fins into Canada once and for all. This was introduced by my colleague, the NDP deputy Fisheries and Oceans critic.

I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of Fin Free Victoria, a group that includes students from Glenlyon Northfolk School in my riding, which has gathered thousands of signatures.

The bill will come to a vote in the House of Commons this evening and I encourage all members of this House to vote in support of the bill.

Canada Labour Code

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to present petitions to this House in support of the bill introduced by my colleague from Verchères—Les Patriotes. Bill C-464, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act , would grant extended parental leave for multiple births or adoptions as a way of levelling the playing field for parents with multiple children.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on a point of order.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this is for the benefit of my colleague opposite who is relatively new to this place and probably does not understand or does not know the rules and procedures. As we know, members are certainly allowed to present petitions, but they are not allowed to endorse or support publicly the petitions that they are presenting. I would mention that for the future.

Experimental Lakes Area

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present four petitions, including hundreds of signatures from people all across the city of Regina and in the vicinity who are concerned about the budget reductions that would eliminate the experimental lakes project in northwestern Ontario.

The petitioners indicate that this has been an absolutely crucial site for the most vital freshwater research in North America, perhaps in the world. They think the cancellation and closure of this facility would be a retrograde step. The petitioners call upon the government to provide the funding necessary to ensure the experimental lakes projects can continue.

Sex Selection

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present the fourth petition on behalf of my constituents, that the House condemn discrimination against females through sex selection pregnancy termination. They ask all members of Parliament to support Motion No. 408 and condemn sex selection.

Bank Remittance Fees

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table petitions from Canadians concerned about the overcharging of remissions of money from Canada. This is of great concern to people who are sending money overseas in support of their families who are in distress, sometimes paying as much as 25% of the remittance.

The petitioners are calling upon the government to follow forth with the undertakings to the G8 and to reduce these remission fees to only 5% when remitting through banks.

Sex Selection

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today, which total 150 people from mainly the Kitchener—Waterloo area and about 16 people from British Columbia.

The petitioners ask that the House condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination. They point out that 92% of Canadians believe that such a thing should be illegal. Millions of girls have been lost through this sex-selective procedure, creating a global gender imbalance. Also, I noticed when I went through the petitions that about 60% of the petitioners are women.

Blood Donation

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, there is a lifetime ban on blood donation from men who have sex with men. The petitioners are asking the government to reconsider that lifetime ban through Canadian Blood Services. They are asking the government to eliminate policy based on homophobia and outdated practices and to create equal deferral periods for high-risk sexual activity regardless of sexual orientation.

I am pleased to present this petition, and both the petitioners and I look forward to the minister's response.

Employment Insurance

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House of Commons a petition that opposes the provisions contained in the Act to implement certain provisions of the budget that deal with the power to define “suitable employment” and “reasonable and customary efforts to obtain employment”, as well as the creation of the social security tribunal, because these provisions will impoverish entire economic sectors of our country and will not improve access to employment insurance or the matching of workers' skills with job vacancies.

Lyme Disease

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions.

The first petition is from residents of Caledon, Erin and Brampton, Ontario, who are in support of my private member's Bill C-442, an act respecting a national Lyme disease strategy.

Shark Finning

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is pertinent to a vote we will have this evening on Bill C-380 to ban the importation of shark fins. Upon discussing the matter with the hon. member for Oakville, he pointed out that there are now approximately 100 million sharks a year that are killed for this practice of finning.

The petitioners in this case are from my own riding, from the islands of Pender, Galiano and Salt Spring.

Employment Insurance

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition that opposes certain provisions of the 2012 budget that deal with employment insurance, including the definitions of “suitable employment” and “reasonable efforts”, as well as the creation of the social security tribunal.

Bank Remittance Fees

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today from dozens of residents of the Ottawa area. These Canadians are very concerned about the excessive fees and gouging that is taking place when they are transferring money abroad. Many new Canadians live on low incomes, and they are being gouged up to 25% of the amount they are sending to loved ones and family members who live overseas. On their behalf, I would like to table this petition.

They say it falls upon the government to bring in legislation that would limit the fees on remittances to 5% of funds, instead of the 25% and sometimes more that currently exists.

I would like to thank the good volunteers of ACORN Canada who have been raising this issue for low-income Canadians.

Road Safety

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, spring has arrived and there are a lot more cyclists, and I am pleased to present a petition on their behalf.

The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to introduce a regulation under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act that would make side guards for trucks mandatory in order to prevent cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians from being pulled under the wheels of these vehicles. It would be good for the environment, as it reduces fuel usage, and also good for safety.

Parks Canada

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is from people in the Ottawa area.

The petitioners point out that the Rideau Canada is a UNESCO world heritage site and a historical site. It represents a significant part of our Canadian heritage. They ask that Parks Canada return the hours of operation of this waterway to the 2011 service level.

Sex Selection

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and present a petition on behalf of dozens of Canadian citizens from southwestern Ontario and Manitoba who in particular note that millions of girls have been lost through sex-selective abortion, creating a global gender imbalance and causing girls to be trafficked into prostitution. The petitioners say that Parliament needs to condemn this worst form of discrimination against females, and they call on members of Parliament to support Motion No. 408 to condemn sex selection.

Questions Passed as Orders for Return

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 1166 and 1169 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.